The Little Hawk: Bookend's Theme
by AvaEobane
Summary: After more than fifteen years, trouble finally leaves them alone and they can breathe freely. / LAST Part of the story.
1. Movements

**Bookend's Theme**

**The Little Hawk – Final Arc**

* * *

_Movements_

* * *

Beads of sweat ran down her forehead as she forced herself to stay focused at the task ahead. She forced her leg, no, her foot to move and while it rebelled, she felt a response. She bit her lip and tried again. This was the hardest thing she had done in her life … harder than to accept her parents' death … harder than to have to explain Luis what had happened.

Lawrence was watching her and as her little toe twitched, he was tempted to congratulate her. This effort was huge and she worked so hard for this that it was a miracle that she had not collapsed yet. He reached out and grabbed her hand to hold it tightly. He wanted to support her but he did not want to distract her.

"Yes!" she muttered as she relaxed. "Did you see this? I moved my toe! And I feel my legs again. I am really, really recovering!"

He smiled as he patted her hand. "You did well," he told her.

"Just a little more and I will walk again!" she said cheerfully.

"For now, you should rest," he said softly. "You should sleep and then, you can train again. We will have you back on your feet very soon. By the way, Jadelina Mustang … what did she tell you when she called?"

"Remember Edward, Edward Elric? He is accused of the murder," she said as she rolled onto her side. "Jade is pretty distressed because of this."

"Elric would never kill anyone – much less someone he knows," the former Briggs-man declared as he removed his sunglasses as the final sign of being tired as well.

"…I agree," she sighed. "Still, airhead said I should be the final judge. She respects my input on this … and I read it in her eyes when I last saw her: if I believe him to be guilty, she will kill him … for _justice_."

"You grew to hate this word, didn't you?"

She nodded. "If _justice_ makes her kill someone she cares for so deeply that he might be her son or brother in anything but blood, there is nothing I could hate more," she explained. "Justice is what Jade believes in … her ideal, her mission. If Edward is found guilty because of faked evidence, there is no way to predict what she might do. She is already fighting herself right now – and this might throw her out of balance."

"She is truly a wise woman but one day, her ideals will get her killed."

"Jade is someone I would trust with my soul," Nerissa said. "Her standards are very high."

"Yes," he nodded as he closed his eyes. "But … how will you judge him?"

"He is my friend and my goddaughter's father. Winry is a great person as well … to decide that he is innocent, that he was framed for this crime is all I can do to protect everyone I care for. Roy would never forgive me if I was to condemn his subordinate to death – and Phil will murder me if I bring Jade into a situation where she will kill."

"You judge him as innocent because of him and because of the others…"

"Indeed," Nerissa agreed. "Jade already judged him and I will blindly agree with airhead on this – if only to ensure everyone's happiness and to make sure that standards are upheld."

"For you to agree with her on such a topic…"

"You said it before: she is a wise one."

"But … there is another reason, isn't there?" he asked.

"Edward Elric cannot lie to Jadelina Mustang," she said seriously. "He has tried it many times but she knows him just too well to believe everything he tells her. She knows when he is lying. She reads it in his eyes. When she says that he is innocent, I am going to believe her. She is usually right, after all."

"And this 'usually' is enough for you?"

"At this moment, yes," she replied.

"You are relying on her word … which might be heavily biased?"

"We are all biased. He is a dear friend. We fought back-to-back so many times. He is our most valuable asset. We cannot sacrifice him.

"That's your decision … understandable…"

"But it is also Serena's place to judge."

"Your sister will accept your judgement."

"Are you sure?" she asked exhausted.

"Serena is a dear friend of mine and I know her well enough to know this."

* * *

Jun Li was highly aware of the silent and probably unconscious accusation she faced every time she looked at her daughter.

"Why him and not you?"

She did not know. She had asked herself the same question, many times since the day she had found him in Min Li's room. She had no clue why it had come like this. She did not know why Chao was in that hospital and not her. It hurt to know that it had always been him who had suffered under fate's cruel reign and never her. She knew that she could not truly be blamed for anything because she had no influence on her health or the lack of his and yet, she cursed everything to hell. He did not deserve this fate.

"Why him and not you?"

_'Yes, why is it always him and never me? I am so sorry, Min Li, but I truly don't know the answer you are looking for. I wish I would though because it hurts __**oh so much**__ that he is always the one to suffer even though I am the one who sinned against the sacred rules of our family while you, Chao, were never to blame for anything that happened to us. You never fooled around with anyone … you always remembered the sacred oaths … so please, forgive me, Chao, forgive me for my weakness … forgive me for being such a failure…'_

"Why him and not you?"

She wondered whether Chao knew what he had done to deserve such a cruel fate, whether he carried a dark secret inside his soul, a secret he had never shared with her. She sometimes suspected that there had always been something inside his heart, the faint shadow of a sin … but then again, he had always seemed so damn innocent and so she refused to believe this. And even if she was wrong and there was something, she would forgive him – just like he had always forgiven her.

"Why him and not you?"

It was behind her own reasoning why she felt so guilty, why she felt so much pain. He had been her friend and rival, then, an eternity ago – and she still loved him. She cried in anger. Chao, this lovable fool, had been there for such a long time, all her life and now, he might be dying, might fall in this pointless battle he had been fighting for so many years.

Still, why him and not her?

* * *

"Things are looking bad in the capital, Vicky," Nerissa said calmly. "You know as good as I do that Edward didn't kill him. He has been framed – you have to do something!"

"Says the woman in the comfortable wheelchair, yes," the redhead said. "Look, Nessa, I know the outlines of the entire building plus the position of any freaking watchmen on the grounds. It's not even that I am scared of breaking him out. I just see no point in it. Even the dumbest person on this planet would figure out that we – as in the clique of governmental relatives – is behind this … and hiding him in Xing seems stupid as well."

"I didn't even mention that we were planning on hiding him there … how did you figure out that part of the plan?"

"This is just about showing you that you got predictable. Look, you all know that Jade's entire organisation got more traitors than the entire military at Promised Day," the genius shrugged. "Without breaking out the big guns, you are going to run into a trap. But please, never mind me. I just advise you to remember that Jade's buildings has reinforced walls since they are running there very dangerous experiments."

"Why is it really that you refuse to come?" Nerissa inquired sharply.

Victoria turned around with a small smile. "Because either way, I will lose … if I don't join and it succeeds, I will be the loser who gave up on him. If it fails and I joined, my reputation will be destroyed for the next hundred years. By staying out of this, I avoid two things: being called one who hogs all the spotlight and messing everything up. Like I said, it's a win-win-lose-situation for me right now."

"You are seriously considering allowing all of them to run into a knife you see from here while the knife is back in Central?" Miles asked as he raised his eyebrows. "Your godmothers would be proud of you … at least Olivier."

"I always wanted many children because I think that they are Heaven on Earth. Children are so … sweet, so innocent. I love children and when I was younger, I dreamed of a huge family, a real family of my own … but now, I am not so sure whether I can have this family. Jing … I still don't know what to think of him. We used to be friends … and yes, I admit that I used to have at least a major crush on him. I don't know if it was love. I only know that I tried to fix him, to heal him. I don't think that I used him – or that I was used by him," she said as she rested her hands on the windowsill and stared outside. "We did whatever we considered necessary at the time. Maybe this was our mistakes … that we wanted to rule our own lives so desperately that we forgot about the borderlines. I don't regret what we did. At the time, it was important and the right thing to do. We had to break the rules to survive." She sat down on the windowsill and wrapped her arms around her legs as she looked at Chao's still form. "Bodyguards and warriors do those things because loneliness is the number one reason for alcoholism and suicide. I am not proud of what I did … but like I said, it was necessary in order to stay sane.  
The elders would hate me if they knew that I … slept with Jing but I wonder how many of them did something alike when they were in my situation … when the loneliness in those cold nights nearly drove them insane … I do care about my reputation back in Xing, sure, and it's not like I slept around in the village. Still, if the elders were to find out, I would end up killed – that's for sure. Well, I know that you know and you never judged."

She sighed deeply. "Thanks for that, Chao. I am happy that at least you are always on my side. And I like you, a lot. Therefore, you are allowed to die. I need you … because you are the most important person in my entire life."

She was not ashamed of what she had done years ago, when she had been fifteen and desperate for human touch, for human warmth. And she had always been too curious for her own good. She had never intended to hurt Jing but she feared that she had hurt him at least a little bit when she had shown that she cared more about Jing thank about Jing.

"I care about you, Chao," she said, leaving away a title because at the moment, she was too confused. "A lot, to be honest. More than you know."

She sighed deeply as she moved over to his bed, carefully bending over him to straighten his blanket. "Get well soon," she said softly as she pressed a kiss onto his forehead. She was about to get back up when his arm was suddenly wrapped around her waist. A few seconds later, she found herself trapped in his arms.

"Stupid Chao," she muttered as she kicked off her shoes. "Always forcing me to relax … I got classes today, you fool!"

He had always forced her to relax and so she had gotten used to his antics along the years. She also knew that it was pointless to try escaping because his arms were a heaven and a prison at the same time. So she rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, breathing calmly. She had always enjoyed his presence and even today, the scent of peppermint and parchment calmed her down and so she fell asleep while she curled up next to him like a little kitten.

* * *

"…we are breaking him out and hide him somewhere until we can be sure that there will be no assassination of another high ranking member of the society," Olivier said sharply as she crossed her arms. "I am aware that I am overstepping boundaries and that I broke around hundred rules just by saying this but – no matter how much it pains me to admit this – Elric is a friend and we can't have a friend rotting away in a prison."

Jade stayed silent, dark orbs entirely focused onto the trembling and whimpering figure of Serena who was currently slamming her fists into Phil's stomach. "You are right," she finally admitted as she averted her gaze. "But I cannot know anything about this. When you break into my building, into my prison, I will have to be surprised, shocked even."

Nick who leaned against the wall behind her sighed deeply. "Victoria and Min Li can't know either. Vicky is hell-bent on making Edward's life miserable because she still believes that he was the one to kill gramps. And Min is about to graduate. Plus, rumours has it that Chao's wife asked for a divorce and this will be soon as well."

"You can count out Serena and Phil. When they are done, they won't be able to move for days … reckless fools," Jade said as she threw something at Nick. "I heard Xing is a nice place when someone has to hide from amestrian authorities…" she added with a smirk.

Nick wrapped his fingers around the keys – the keys that would allow him to fly – oh, and to get Edward out of the country before most people would even realise that the alchemist had left the prison. He would be able to fly. "Alright," he said, praying that his reputation as the one who could use any kind of vehicle would not desert him. He had used Jade's small plane a few times before but always under her supervision.

* * *

"…it's kinda cruel of you to let her go on her own," Scar said as he watched Victoria. "I mean … isn't loyalty a big topic among your circle of friends?"

She sighed. "I just can't," she said. "My arm is still in a mess and nothing I can do has ever helped anyone. To stay here is a favour for all of them."

"You aren't giving yourself enough credit. Look at it, you are a healer and no matter what, this is something you should be proud of. Yeah, you smashed in a wall you never meant to destroy but, hell, this happens to the best of us," he said. "It doesn't matter how much you can do – it matters that you are doing something. Look, grab your gloves and take the next train to the capital. You were born as a fighter – otherwise you'd be dead already."

"I was born weak," she stated. "Compared to others, I will be useless. To stay back is the smartest thing I can do."

"Then don't go as a fighter but as a leader, as a tactician! Use your brain and fix up the holes in their plan – because there got to be many," he said. "Look, just go and do something. Since you arrived, you did nothing but smiling and helping everyone. You even healed that man who tried to kill you after I broke his nose and caused him to bleed."

"So you expect me to go out and help them?"

"Exactly," he said exasperated. "Looks, the people everywhere love you – as your own genius-warrior-leader-mixture. You are a lot like Mei – a princess who does something. This oh-I-am-just-a-little-healer-and-pacifist-image kills you and I promise you, if you keep it up, you will end up extremely unhappy because you are hiding within a small shell."

She exhaled as she stared at her hands. "I … I only wanted to help everyone."

"I know," he said as he held out her gloves. "But instead of helping everyone, focus a little more on helping those you love. I will cover the people at the hospital for the time being. You will help them to save Elric and if you want to, you can return afterwards."

She bit her lip before she finally grabbed the gloves from his hand and rested her fist on her heart. "I will be back," she promised. "Maybe not tomorrow – but soon!"

He laughed lightly as he watched her leave, shoulders straight and a sincere expression on her face. This was the least he could do. She was a lot like his brother, wanting to help everyone but failing miserably. Yet, unlike his brother, she had people who helped her back up whenever she met her shortcomings. _"Soar,"_ he muttered.

"You really managed to get her to leave?" Miles inquired calmly. "I am surprised."

"It's all about pushing the right buttons. She is a tough one – but she still got a heart."

* * *

"Say, Riza?" Roy asked as he looked up from his plate. "Did Armstrong ask you as well?"

"Whether I want to help her to break Edward out of Jade's cell, yes," she nodded as she cut her steak carefully. "So she has asked you as well?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I told her that I am considering it – seeing that Edward would do the same for me if I was sitting in prison…"

"I think that it could be problematic. If we get caught, it would ruin everything we worked for since, well, the war," she said with a frown. "I understand your wish to help him but … as far as I see, Nick and Laila already involved themselves. For us to join the fray would only make matters worse, I fear."

"We could do it like Jade – help them from behind the scenes," he suggested. "I also see the risk of destroying the work of more than a decade. That's why we need to be careful with the entire operation. I think that Olivier already got the rest of the old team."

"Fuery, she definitively got Fuery," Riza muttered. "She needs him to cut down the communication in the building and to enable her own people to communicate properly."

"You and Victoria share the disturbing habit of guessing parts of the plan with ridiculous precision," Roy sighed as he sipped on his wine. "But yes, I guess that this is really the reason why she needs his help. Her own communication experts stayed up in Briggs."

"Helping is okay, being involved directly isn't," his wife decided as she pushed back her chair and rose. "Don't jeopardise our entire work, Roy, please."

* * *

He awoke from another angst-filled dream and as he gasped for air, he felt a second body on his bed as he realised that human warmth was seeping through his clothes and into his bones. He careful extended his hand and touched silky hair and velvety skin – too soft to belong to his so-called wife. He inhaled a scent of ginger and honey, the scent of Min Li. It was a strangely comforting scent, the scent of home.

His free hand, the hand that was not attached to an IV came up to toy with the strands that had freed themselves from the strict buns she insisted on wearing. His hand slipped away from her hair and tried to figure out whether she was uninjured or not. Her face was uninjured, no scratches, no scars. He exhaled in relief. So she had no fought with that Bo-boy all over again. There were no bandages underneath her sleeves and she did not react when he carefully put pressure onto her ribs. So no bruises either. He was happy that she was alright and for a few moments, he allowed himself to hold her close to himself. She was perfect in his eyes. She had her own, special way to smile at him, kind and warm, honest and unfaltering. But he also knew that she was a liar. They all lied everyday. Chao had lied about his illness, Jun Li had lied about her feelings, Lan Fan had lied about her reasons and Min Li was lying as well even though he did not know her lie yet.

His hand returned to her head, cupping her face. She stirred in her sleep and rolled over to wrap her arms around him. She was warm and comfortable, a kitten compared to him, the lion, no, the tiger.

Her smaller and softer hand was suddenly connected with his own and her lips curled up into a soft and lazy smile.

"Min-hime," he said, copying Ping Fang's silly nickname for her.

Her lids twitched twice before she opened her eyes. "Chao," she said, no title, no honorific. He preferred this for some reason.

"Slept well?" he inquired, trying to sit up.

"Yeah," she nodded, placing a pillow between his back and the headboard. "You moved a lot in your sleep … you had a bad dream, huh?"

He sighed. "I dreamed something very strange," he admitted. "It was the craziest dream I had in a very long time. What about you, Min Li?"

"It's not about me," she said, letting down her hair from her ruined buns.

"It's not about me all the time either," he said, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "You are important as well … especially to me. So, sometimes it's about you as well, Princess, and right now I say that it's about you."

She laughed lightly and for a moment, she rested her forehead against his chest, feeling his heartbeat resounding in her head. "On a more serious note, Lan Fan called … Jun Li. The elders finally made their move."

His hands tightened to fists and she gasped at the sudden pain in her scalp because he accidentally yanked on her hair. "Sorry, hime," he whispered before he let go of her hair to prevent to hurt her again. "But … those elders … they are getting exhausting."

She sighed as she folded her hands neatly in her lap. "They are still caught up in the old rules," she said in her usual pacifying manner even though she was sick and tired of this topic. "It's not their fault, Chao. They defend the old order, they defend what they believe in … and I have to respect this even though I hate them. Everyone has the right to express their beliefs."

He brushed back her hair. "You are right," he stated with a sigh. "I don't like it but they have truly a right to express their opinions." He sighed deeply. "By the way, my wife wants a divorce."

Her face fell.

* * *

It was a silent night in Central City.

Edward Elric sat in his cell, wondering what would happen next. On his right lay the abandoned newspaper Jade had sneaked into his cell. Most of the so-called events did not interest him at all. He did not care about the fact that the ambassador of Nippon had arrived for negations with Xing and Amestris. He also was not impressed by the fact that Serena would be led to the altar by Phil because this was only because of Peter's death and Peter's death only reminded him of the crime he had supposedly committed.

His mind went lost on the road to insanity.

He had not killed them. Peter had been a lot like his father had been before everything had been destroyed – loud, full of laughter and warmth. And Catherina had been a spitfire, a lot like Winry and maybe this was why he could hardly understand why there were people who truly believed that he had been the one to murder them – his friends.

He remembered everything as he sat there. He remembered Jade. She had been his enemy at first, cool and calculating – a perfect predator. Then, she had somehow become his comrade, loyal and unfaltering – never judging him or anyone else. And within a flash, she had been everything else as well. His rival … his superior … his partner … his friend … his sister … his equal – even though it hurt to admit this - … his would-be-executioner … his jailer … the key to his freedom and above all, his guard.

She was his sword and his shield.

She guarded his life and at the same time, she kept his spirit alive. His cell was a cell, true, but he was only in the detention cell of the Ministry of Science. This was not a real prison. He was _allowed_ to do his paperwork and under Jade's strict supervision, he was even able to go outside to train in the enclosed yard which was nice. Plus, Jade tried very hard to keep the worst from him.

He exhaled as he heard steps on the floor and frowned as he recognised Nerissa's pattern. It sounded clumsy and unsure, lacking its former energy and a far cry from the aggression it had used to emit – but this was to be expected from a woman who had been in a wheelchair.

Finally, she appeared. Her hair was down, without the usual silver hairclip that kept it in line, and she wore the darkest shade of black. She was unarmed but he knew just too well that her hands were lethal as well.

"You are here to judge me," he stated.

She nodded as she stood still. "Indeed," she replied after a moment. "Jade believes you to be innocent and while I want to believe her, I want to be sure that you didn't kill them."

"My hands are clean," he said slowly. "I cared for them. Hell, she is my idol. I care about her … she is – was my teacher. She is a woman of perfected patience. I … she is like a mother."

"So, Jade is the next one who has to die?" the blonde asked, eyes impossible to read.

"Why?" he asked with a frown.

"Because out of all of us, she is the closest you ever got to have a mother since Trisha … passed on," Nerissa said as her eyes softened. "Plus, she is the one dealing with this mess."

"Like you, I would never kill if I saw another way out," he said calmly.

"This is what I wanted to hear," Nerissa smirked. "A little hint: pack your suitcase. Things are about to look up."

"I am getting released? Was my innocence proven?"

"Nope," she said. "Let's say … Olivier is getting sick and tired of your _'vacation on costs of the state'_ and decided to end this … tonight. And as you can guess, this means that she got someone to break you out of this … detention cell."

* * *

"It's time," Olivier said as she looked at the team she had assembled. There were a few who looked promising like the Xingese woman with the green jacket. The rest of the gang did not seem as competent with the exception of Nick maybe. "Fuery, cut down their communication … and let's pray that Jade doesn't kill me for that stunt."

"With pleasure," the bespectacled man grinned. "Oh, did the minister approve of this? Because I don't want end up as some weird experiment at her laboratory…"

"She is warned and will most likely go to me when she really has a problem," Olivier said, trying to calm him down. "Plus, she should have counted on things like this. Okay, Miss Cho, you and your team offered to cause a distraction?"

"We no speak Amestrian," the woman in green said with a wink as she removed her katana from her belt. "Do me a favour, General, and keep an eye on it. It's family heirloom and, well, my mother would personally behead me with a spoon if something happened to this sword – Qiang."

"It got a name because any decent sword got one," Ping Fang, the scientist of their group, explained while he dropped his own set of weapons. "Okay, Jing, empty your pockets. We got to leave … we have a tight schedule tonight after all."

"Nick," Riza said from her place by the monitors. "Be careful, alright?"

Her son nodded as he turned around. "Check point Beta," he said. "I will be waiting there."

"We are going in now," Jean Havoc said as he stepped out of the room. "Boss, Hawkeye, you keep watch from this place. We will screw up the place from the inside."

"This is exactly what you should avoid," Roy sighed. "Jade kills me if something happens to her precious antique scrolls. And I actually like the way I live right now."

* * *

Lee Cho had done many crazy things in his life as it came with his profession. But messing with a highly-secured building that belonged to a powerful organisation was new to him – especially since usually, Min Li had been the one to decide on their jobs and she would have never ever accepted something that screamed "This is fucking dangerous".

He sighed as he removed his green clan jacket and dropped it onto the other jackets they had shed off.

"Here we go," Jean Havoc, the strangely enthusiastic man, muttered as he carefully manipulated one of the doors to open. "You heard the boss – don't destroy anything that belongs Jade because she will find and kill us for this."

"Understood," Meimei said as she looked around. "But everything else is at our disposal, right?" she asked as she grabbed a few explosive notes from her belt.

"No extensive damage either," Jean said as he dashed away. He knew the real movements of the guards because of a little bird that smelled of lemons. He chuckled. Victoria did a terrible job at making everyone believe that she did not care about this mission.

* * *

Nick was freezing. The time was moving too slow and he wondered whether it had been in a night like this when Jean had started to smoke because smoking was probably the only thing one could do when lurking in the shadows, waiting for something to happen. For a moment, he considered conjuring a little flame to warm him but it would only attract unwanted attention. His head turned to the side as Laila appeared, hair golden and eyes emerald and skin marble. "You took your sweet time, Lai," he said gently.

She sighed as she looked around, hoping for a familiar spot of red. "So she really didn't come," she stated calmly but the pain crept into her voice within seconds. "I had expected her to see reason but it seems like she is stubborn to the end."

"It is our sister so what did you expect?" he asked as he brushed back his hair. "It is nice to see you though. Did you cut off the emergency generator on your way?"

"This is my only job – to cause complete darkness," she shrugged. "Will Jean be fine?"

* * *

Her breath went heavy as she dashed through the darkness. Her heart thundered inside her chest and she cursed her aching feet as she finally came to a hold. She saw the three soldiers in the distance and for a moment, she wondered whether they heard her heart or her erratic breath. But then again, they had no reason to suspect her of anything.

She, however, knew what she had to do. She knew of those three soldiers – just had remembered them. They would see Jean and Edward and they would not forget about them. They had to disappear but while had taken on thugs not too long ago, she was not sure whether she would be able to do anything at all. Her arm still hung down in this miserable form, limp and useless. She had no sword to wield and no explanation, no excuse to get those men to leave their post for a moment.

She was there but she was utterly useless – maybe she should have never come in first place. She resisted the urge to slap herself. She had to do something, anything.

"You know, instead of thinking about what you _can't_ do, you should start to consider what you _can_ do," the calm voice of Mei Chang-Elric said as the young woman appeared next to her. "And this is supposed to be a secured faculty? I got in without a problem…"

"Tonight, everyone gets in without any trouble," Lan Fan said as she appeared out of nowhere, landing safely on her feet. "What about … two of us start to fight quite violently while the third one gets the guards to break us up?"

"You do the fight, I do the talk with the guards," Victoria said. "But … we should a little longer. Jean will be here in two minutes and we can't have them returning too early."

"Smart idea," Lan Fan admitted as she sighed. "By the way, the next time you see Min Li, please tell her that the elders are about to stir up even more trouble for her."

* * *

Jean Havoc would pray later on to any unknown deities that they had made this work. He had grabbed Edward and his personal belongings before they had made sure to vacate the areal of the ministry of science faster than a bat out of hell. Being a soldier, he realised that he was passing a – thankfully abandoned – post for even more guards [what the fuck had Jade been thinking when she had insisted on having so many guards anyway?]. He had forced himself not to think of the probability of having even more watchmen on his heels in a few seconds when he had pushed Edward to the corner where Nick had been waiting, joined by Laila who smiled at Jean.

"We are out of there, finally," Edward panted as he rested his hands on his knees. "If it had known that you meant this by _a short walk at the fresh air_, Havoc, I would have stayed."

"Victoria really didn't show up, huh?" Jean asked as he looked at Laila.

"Somehow, I feared that she would stay away," the blonde replied with a shrug. "She is … sick and tired of everything, I fear. She has been working so hard to get stronger and messes up her arm like that. She has to be frustrated."

Jean nodded as he looked at Nick. "You get him out of the country as fast as possible, I'd say," he smiled as Riza pulled up the car. "I'll get Laila home safe and in one piece."

"Good idea," Laila said as she waved at her brother. "Keep an eye on yourself, Edward."

"W-what about Win and Trisha and Granny?" the blond man asked.

"Left the country earlier today on the generous invitation of Emperor Ling," Nick said as he pushed the man into the direction of the car. "Keep an eye on Lai, Jean. Oh, and I'll see you in the morning – remember: Chao is getting a divorce."

* * *

Laila was silent as they walked through the silent town. "I am unhappy about Vic's decision to stay in Ishbal," she admitted. "Sure, I can understand her reasoning and it makes sense and is wonderfully logically … but, it makes me mad that I know that usually, she would have come. She would have arrived as some sort of … last minute saviour."

"She probably did," he stated as he mentioned towards the familiar silver hairclip on the ground. "That's hers, isn't it? If you want to hear what I believe … she came back and she was the one to lure away the soldiers we didn't count on. Don't despair, Laila, she would never ever let you and Nick down. She just has to accept that her options aren't the best at the moment … and that some things simply don't work out the way they are supposed to."

* * *

They had run until their chests had felt like they would burst – but then again, they had reached the luxurious house that belonged Jun Li and Lei just in time. Lan Fan had unlocked the door and they had stumbled into the entrance hall – only to be face to face with Jun Li who did not look amused at all.

"I can explain," Lan Fan said hastily as she raised her hands. "We got involved into the entire Freeing-Edward-Elric-business and somehow, we ended up fleeing."

Jun Li's face was expressionless as she put her kunai back into its holster. "Get into the living room and keep out the light," she said as she stepped backwards.

"You _are_ mad," Mei stated as she followed the woman.

"Mad, no," the older woman said as she pushed open the door. "Maybe a little bit unhappy because, hell, it's three in the morning and I was nearly asleep when I felt your flaring chi."

"Usually, you would be asleep by now," Lan Fan said as she sat down on the couch. "You are worried about Chao, aren't you?"

"I am worried about Min," her sister said as she wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Understandable," Mei said in agreement. "She won't be at the hospital tomorrow, right?"

"He asked her to attend his divorce," the retired Dragon Warrior said as she shrugged. "I haven't seen you in town for a while, Tori. I even heard that you refused to help the prison break tonight … and yet, you are here."

"Scar gave me a wakeup call and anyway, I finished my work," the redhead shrugged as she pulled a bunch of parchment from her bag. "Took me long enough to understand the last details of my mother's code … anyway, here we go. Lynn's biggest breakthrough – replacing a lost limb via alchemy," she said. "It is really a shame – she was halfway done by the time she … was killed. I only had to fix up the last few details."

"Replacing a lost limb…" Lan Fan muttered, grabbing her automail. "That's brilliancy."

"…and might save my own arm one day," Victoria added with a dark expression.

"It still didn't heal properly?" Mei asked worried. "Shall I take a look?"

"I thought that it was over … but the wound festered. I think that one of the chimeras was poisonous," the young girl said as she shrugged. "It would be nice if you would check it out, Mei. It hurts a lot after all."

* * *

AN:  
I promise all my readers that this is the final part.  
Give me about 9 more chapters to catch the last few threads of the story and I will be done.  
In this chapter, Victoria finally mentioned her attempt to find a way to replace a lost limb again, plus, she got a lot of character development for not running to Central when she was first asked by Nerissa to help them.


	2. Wei versus Wei

_Wei versus Wei_

* * *

"…we will fall apart because of this, won't we?" Lee asked as he looked at the building behind them. "No matter what will happen – it will end what we used to have."

"That this day would come has been obvious for a very long time so don't sweat it, Lee," Ping said as he uncrossed his arms. "But no matter what we will do, we should act now."

"We will support her – just as we promised to," Jing said with a shrug. "We once said that we would follow her into any battle she will ever fight and today is no exception."

"She might not want to see us there – just in case," Lee remarked drily. "She has more pride in her little finger than we have in our bodies. And … we should accept this."

Jing turned around just in time to see the young woman he had been supposed to love once, a long time ago. She walked with her head held high as her black robe flattered in the wind. Sometimes, he wondered whether he should speak with her and tell her how he felt but then he remembered how terrible she had always been with the important conversations. She would simply walk away from him – even if she would keep sitting on her chair. Min Li was the master of both ways: to go without leaving and to leave without going.

"She will listen if you are man enough to talk with her," Ping said with his usual wise voice.

"No, I disagree with you there," Lee said as he crossed his arms. "Min Li will pretend to listen to whatever Jing has to say – but she won't really listen because this would mean that she has to face … and if she does this, she won't be able to continue her conquest of the entire world."

"I will have to break up with her formally one day," Jing said as he shook his head. "And this will hurt both of us … too bad that Chao could not have gotten divorced earlier."

"You are cruel, Jing," Ping admonished carefully. "We know what this means for their clan."

"If I had had the chance, I would have stopped her from getting involved," he said as he stared at the sky where birds circled lazily. "No matter what happened, I lost her. Min Li does not see me as a friend anymore … and that's a tragedy. My own bitterness made me blind for her pain and so I failed to be there for her when she needed me."

"She would have pushed you away – like she pushed everyone away," Meimei said as she finally caught up to them. "It's a nice day for such an event…"

"What do you think about this entire situation, Meimei-sensei?" the Bo-heir asked.

"The timing is a little bit _too good_," she said as she stared at the building ahead of them. "It has to happen on the same day Chao undergoes his surgery … one day after the ambassador of Nippon arrived in Amestris … and we know of the influence and the importance of the Akaihana-family for the Wei-clan … they used to be allies." She snorted. "It is also one day after Edward Elric … managed to escape the supposedly safest prison in this town."

"Please don't accuse Chao-sama's wife of intelligence – that's weird," Lee said as his face turned into a mask of utter disgust. "And you have to admit that we worked well yesterday night when we broke Edward-san out of the freaking prison."

"I wish we could have seen Jade-dono's face when she realised that he was gone," Jing said as he allowed himself a rare moment of being simply a normal young man.

"She helped you to stage this, remember?" Meimei sighed as she threw back her head, holding it up in the same manner she had carried herself the day she had visited the Wei-clan … utterly proud and self-confident, strong enough to carry the entire village on her shoulders and never faltering. "Anyway, today is a fateful day – for everyone."

* * *

"…wasn't this an arranged marriage?"

"It was but they still want this divorce, yes."

"But he's so ill … why doesn't she just sit that one out? Waits until he's, well, dead?"

"She doesn't want his money, she wants her freedom. For her to be divorced will mean that her family loses influence and reputation back in Xing but since the divorce will happen in Amestris and not back in Xing, she won't bring too much shame over her family."

"Still, did anyone see whether he even contacted a lawyer? I mean, he has been in the hospital for weeks by now … and we got our rules about divorces…"

The eyes of the audience were not directed at the desk where the wife, well, the ex-wife-to-be sat. The eyes of every single person were glued onto the desk where the lawyer of Chao Wei would sit – because this attorney would have to save the man's money and honour. But the lawyer in question was still absent, something that sat not well with the people who were there for Chao Wei, those who cared about him and the fate of his clan.

"An honourable Xingese family … and yet, they can fall hard…" Daiki Akaihana, the ambassador of Nippon, remarked drily. "Poor Wei-clan…"

"All the more honour of us and our clan," his niece replied calmly.

"You are heartless, Satomi-chan," her cousin chuckled as he looked at the stoic girl.

She snorted and was about to say something as the door was pushed open and two lawyers entered, nodded at the judge and sat down gracefully.

"Looks like the Wei-heiress herself takes care of Chao-dono's mess," Daiki shrugged. "Ah well, I am curious to see what she will do now…"

"Lawyers Johnson and Wei, I presume?" the judged asked calmly.

"Yes, your Honour," the young man said as he opened his bag to get his files.

"Miss Wei, correct me if I'm wrong but you are also here as the witness because you lived with Mr Wei during his marriage with Mrs Wei…"

"That's right," the woman said. "And I am willed to answer any question the jury and the lawyers have in store for me."

"Very well…" the judge said. "Now, I'd like one of Mrs Wei's lawyers to tell us why we are here."

"We are here to argue the case of Wei versus Wei," one of the snobbish lawyers declared as he rose from his chair. "Mrs Yi Wei has married Mrs Chao Wei a little more than two years ago. Their marriage was arranged by the elders of their respective families and was supposed to lead to Mr Wei's confirmation as head of his family through the birth of a healthy son."

Daiki watched how Min Li Wei's shoulders tensed, the classical give-away for a person who had been solving problems through fights for too long, for a person who was a fighter to the bone.

"Now that Mrs Wei is still childless, she claims that Mr Wei never showed any interest in her as his woman and wife. Therefore, we argue that Mr Wei is responsible for the failure of their marriage," the attorney ended with a smug smirk. "And since Mrs Wei does not wish to speak about her marriage, we call Miss Wei into the witness stand."

The young woman rose from her chair and stepped over to the bench as her hair slipped from her shoulder which she ignored. She sat down and nodded at the judge.

"Your name is Min Li Wei, correct? You are the daughter of Mr Wei's cousin and lived in his house since you were born under his guardianship?" the judge inquired.

She nodded. "Yes," she said as she rested her painted fingers on the table in front of her. "I was part of his household since I was born. He raised me and ensured that I had a good education."

The lawyer grinned at her as he grabbed his paper with questions. "What was your position?"

"Oh, I was mostly shunned or ignored by my relatives," she replied cheerfully. "But given my bloodline and my descendant from the last true head of the clan who was my great-grandfather, I should have been the heiress to the clan."

"That means if your family had accepted you, the _entire_ marriage would have been _unnecessary_?"

"No," she replied. "The marriage was arranged for many reasons – one of them was that since the elders are not exactly my biggest fans, they wanted to prevent that I would ever come close to taking leadership. Hence, they arranged the marriage to cut down my entire line."

"Could you explain this?"

"Gladly," she said. "By having an heir directly from Chao's line, my birthright would have been valid. I would never have become leader. I would have been married off for the sake of some political alliance at twenty-something and no one would have bothered to say something about it. This is the way our clan achieved influence and power – _political marriages_."

"Please describe your relationship with Mr Wei," the lawyer said with a smirk.

"Of course," she said as she brushed back her hair. "He had noble and less noble reasons to take me in after my birth. The noble reason was that my mother was his younger cousin and the rightful heir of the clan. To do her a favour was important for him because he was strengthening his own position inside the family. The less noble reason is easily explained – even after my mother disappeared from the Imperial Court and also the country, she might have returned and in any case, I would have been a valuable hostage." She shrugged. "No matter what, I grew up in a very warm and … comfortable environment. I was allowed to learn far more than the daughters of my clansmen and for this, I am eternally grateful. Chao personally supervised the early stages of my training until I was enrolled at the academy. I was about five at the time."

"This sounds … really young."

"In my village, it is wise to send the children to the academy as early as possible," she replied. "It is not like here were the country has not seen civil war for many years. Xing is full of war, even today. Many families lost daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, children and parents on the countless battlefields and at the time of my childhood, the situation was unstable. No one knew who would be the next emperor – there were even suspicions that one of the younger siblings of Emperor Ling's father might try to take the throne. In this case, there would have been a full-blown civil war … to have a child learn how to defend itself was crucial at the time."

"She does a fine job down there," Satomi Akaihana stated as she leaned back. "For a warrior to have to rely on words instead of a nice katana has to be … _complicated_."

"You are cruel," her younger cousin, Hanabi, said with a huge grin. "Look, she is fighting very hard and her words pierce just as good as any kunai could ever."

"Excuse me," a calm voice interrupted as a blonde mentioned towards the empty chair. "Could I sit here? I think I would have a nice view from here."

"Of course, miss," Kaito Akaihana, the ambassador's son, said as he removed his coat from the chair. "There, it is pretty interesting. Do you know Wei-san personally?"

"She's my sister's best friend," she replied as she removed her sunglasses. "Laila Hawkeye, it's nice to meet you. And I am sorry for skipping the brunch this morning … I had to sort out a few things … plus, I stayed up late last night because I waited for my sister to come home."

"But she didn't come home?" Hanabi asked cheerfully as she held out her hand. "I'm Hanabi!"

"You are saying it," Laila said as she shook the little girl's hand. "This morning, she finally called and said that she slept over at Min Li's place."

"Which I did."

Like in Xing, red hair was rare in Nippon and for this reason, the ambassador and his family stared at the bright red hair for a moment as the stranger sat down after sending a dazzling smile into their direction.

"Victoria, is this really necessary?" Laila growled as she crossed her arms. "If you are so concerned about your image, you might not want to attend a divorce. Plus, Serena asked about you."

"Min is my best friend and I am dating Owen, Lai," the redhead said as she shrugged. "I also know that Serena will only ask me questions I won't be able to answer – like what colour will be the best for the colours of the bridesmaids' gowns. I don't have all the answers, remember?"

"You still act like you know the solution to every problem, Victoria," the blonde stated calmly as she leaned forward to watch the conservation. "I am not saying that you have the wrong priorities but I am saying that you really need to sound a little less all-knowing because that scares the hell out of me. The next thing you will announce will be who killed grandpa and grandma if you keep this up – and this will the moment you will freak out even Nerissa."

"Since you already brought her up … it looks like Nerissa won't be the one to walk Serena down the aisle and you might be surprised to hear who is the lucky one," Victoria smirked.

"Serena has some grudge against dad so it won't be him and I cannot imagine that she turned down Nerissa's offer to ask our mother … so, let me guess: Jade? I mean, Lynn was Serena's twin and according to those who knew them, Jade and Lynn were the closest of friends which might make it likely that Serena asked our favourite air alchemist…"

"Close but not close enough yet," the second-oldest daughter grinned. "It seems like Serena and Phil are old friends and that she asked him to fill in for her father. Well, it seemed strange for a moment but then I remembered that Serena and Phil had those moments … the same kind of moment mom and dad have sometimes – you call them creepy and disgustingly adorable."

"Whoa," the blonde said after a moment. "Serena and Phil … who but Jade would have guessed that? I mean … sure, I did know that they were partners back in the West but I would never have guessed that they used to be this close … well, it explains a few things."

"For example?"

"A few days back, I overheard an argument between Jade and Phil and she accused him of being unable to understand because he does not know what it feels like to lose someone close. I think that the reason for that argument was that Phil voiced a few careless words to Nerissa when she called him and he replied that he knows just too well. Seeing that Jade – while she stopped blaming herself – still misses Lynn, it suddenly makes a lot more sense."

* * *

Down in the arena, Min Li was suffering from nervousness. The blood rushed inside her ears and she hardly heard what Owen was saying even though she tried to listen. She was eternally grateful for his support because on her own, she could never have fought this battle and she had to win because this was for her uncle, this was for Chao and she could not let him down because he had done too much for her so that she simply did not even want to consider the possibility that she might fail him when it truly mattered – like right now.

She raised her gaze from the files in front of her to search for familiar faces in the crowd. She saw Jing and the rest of her old team, watching her with expressionless faces and she wondered whether they were proud of her and whether they would understand her once everything was said and done. She also saw Victoria and Laila who smiled encouragingly as they stopped their own discussion for a moment and not for the first time she prayed that in her next life, she could be one of them, one of the people who did not have to fear for their fragile happiness.

But even with their support, this was still her fight and since so much depended on this, she rose to her feet without trembling hands as she shed of her insecurities and fears. She could not afford to be a scared little girl anymore because she was born for higher purposes.

"…our client wants the divorce because he thinks that his interest and Mrs Wei's interests can no longer coexist," she said serenely as she smiled slightly. "He is willed to pay for her compensation but only so far that she can become an independent woman."

* * *

The first thing Chao realised upon awaking that it was not Min Li who sat at his bedside, looking terribly tired and haggard. It was his cousin, Jun Li, and no matter how much mother and daughter looked alike, Chao saw the differences. He had memorised all the little things that made Min Li Min Li – and Jun Li had nothing on her daughter.

Old questions resounded in his head, questions he had asked so many times … _"Wait, where you say you've been?"_ because they had both lied whenever they had been asked this question. Jun Li had never admitted that she had been hanging out with Lei and Min Li had never admitted that she had been training on her own, pushing herself too far every day, waiting with terrifying awareness for the day she would finally shatter. _"Who have you been with?"_ Oh well, another question they had both lied to. Jun Li had never told anyone who she was hanging out with – even as a little child, she had stayed silent. And while Min Li had learned to admit that she was going away with _'someone from my team'_, she had never mentioned any names.

Min Li … a faint smile crossed his face.

She had always kept him on his toes because she had been the most unpredictable person he had ever known. And he had felt how he had grown younger because in order to deal with her, he had been forced to stay in the here and now – a place he had hated as a young man.

"Chao," Jun Li said, closing the book she had been reading. "How are you?"

He shrugged, trying to find the pain within his chest but it was gone. He waited for another start, for another end but nothing happened. He slowly realised that he was probably supposed to answer his cousin. "It's okay now," he said softly.

"Great," Jun Li said, getting up in a fluid motion. "I would stay longer but I need to get back to work. Your ex-wife will stop by later."

The man flinched. "How is Min-hime doing?" he inquired.

"She passed her last test," Jun Li said, grabbing her bag. "But I did never expect anything else from a girl who knows what she wants this clearly."

He wondered when he had become so easy to read by those who knew him, when his conversations with his cousin had become more than a meaningless routine, when they had become something he clung to and yet, he considered them as meaningless because Jun Li was no longer as important as she had been once.

Chao closed his eyes and for a moment, he allowed himself to let go of everything that kept him anchored to the presence, to the life he was leading. He let go of all the rules he lived by and he embraced his very soul, the core of everything he had ever been. He knew that the ground, the bottom was approaching too fast and that he might not like the realisation he would find there but it was time to let go, time to allow himself to see what he had been running from for so long. Jun Li of all people had often talked about second chances and he finally understood that he had to make it work now, this second time around. He had long outgrown the phase when he had been cared of his own shadow. He had worked so hard for the life he had had and he had often changed his ways, allowing himself to let go of the empty ideals he had used as some type of security blanket. But the rules did no longer matter to him. They had burnt down the day he had collapsed in Min Li's room, when everything had spiralled out of his control. Now, he could accept what had been running from.

* * *

Jing Bo was a man of honour even though he had often played against the rules. He also cared about his former teammates and therefore, he was too much of a friend to close the door into Ping's face when the other young man suddenly appeared on his doorstep, looking tired and exhausted from a day that had been too long for him.

"What's going on?" the Bo-survivor inquired.

"Min Li locked herself into her room. Neither Jun Li-san nor anyone else can get her to open the freaking door and that worries us a lot," Ping replied, rubbing his temples. "This has been getting too freaking complicated for my liking."

"I will go and talk to her," Jing said as he wrapped his jacket. "Min-hime and I have been both ignoring that this would happen one day. We need to face the facts now."

He let his confused friend behind as he stepped out of his room and made his way to Min Li's house where he easily sneaked through the dark hallways. Min Li's door was in fact locked but he had experience in … unlocking doors without a key and thus he entered and crossed his arms over his chest. Min Li sat on the windowsill, holding a kunai and for the first time since they had met, she did not cut herself as she threw it up to catch it again. She wore her pyjama and as he looked around, he saw no big difference to her old room in Xing. Over the bed hung her favourite weapons, a katana she had gotten from Chao-san a long time ago and the sword which had been passed down to her from her great-grandfather. He crossed the room, feeling once more like an intruder in her own world and took the kunai from her. "It's over, Min-hime," he stated softly. "Everything is over now. You can do what you want now. You have no longer to worry about him. This has been eating you for months now. You are able to live on now."

She looked at him, unsurprised as ever to see him standing there. _"Months?"_ she asked. "Give me some more credit, Jing. I have been worrying for years. Only a blind fool would have been unable to notice that there was something going on with him. It seemed to be my purpose to worry about him, to be there for him when he felt bad."

He patted her shoulder. "We meant no harm," he promised. "It's just … we believed it to be the best for you … not to know. We meant no harm. We never did."

"Why are you really here?" she asked, focusing her steely gaze at him. "You _never_ apologise. I have known you for years and you are yet to apologise for all the pain you caused me and Meimei-sensei. And since did not come to apologise, you have another reason."

_Well played, Min-hime, well played as usual_, he mused for a second, wondering how she had managed to keep her wit intact along the years – and how she had sharpened it even more. She had been the smartest among them, always finding loopholes and after ways to avoid punishment. He had admired her for this trait and when he had figured out that she was studying law of all things in Amestris, he had considered it as more than just fitting.

"I am here because of your childish temper tantrum," he replied, leaning against the wall. "I am not sure whether you already figured out that they were worried about you."

"It feels strange to know and to act dumb," she replied, wrapping her arms around her legs, giving him the littlest possibility to attack her physically possible. "But you are not here because you want to scold me like a little kid."

"Excellent deduction," he agreed. "It's time to say goodbye to our delusions, princess."

She bit her lower lip. "I didn't believe that you would get it so late," she admitted.

"I knew it from the beginning," he replied. "It was obvious to anyone with a hint of intelligence. We are too much the same, two broken, shattered souls. We cling to the slightest bit of affection because we are so scared of losing it, of being abandoned. You need someone who is complete, someone who is capable of fixing you, Min-hime. You know what they say, don't you? Opposites attract. They are right. We have chosen the easy way by running away … only to be forced to run back now."

She closed her eyes, feeling how damn tired she was. She wanted to rest but then again, she also wanted to stand up and fight something, someone, anything, _anyone_. "Give me my kunai," she finally said and no surprise was in her mind as he really gave her the weapon. She unbound her hair from its usual buns and spun the kunai on its ring a few time around her finger before she cut off a good deal of her hair, her most prized possession since she had been a little child. She had adored her hair, Jing knew it just too well. She had spent most of the money she had made with her missions on it and her hairstyle had had the purpose to protect it from being grabbed in a fight. Now, the hair that had reached to her waist merely covered her shoulder blades and with the skill of a weapon specialist, she added layers into it. As she was finished, she looked older and more mature.

"It looks nice," Jing said as he took the broom from the storage room to clean the floor.

"It looks different," she stated, marvelling at the lesser weight resting on her shoulders – both metaphorically and literally. "I like it a lot … I might end up keeping it shorter."

He realised that her drastic haircut was a sign of complete and utter confusion of feelings. She was happy that Chao had survived the surgery and that he would recover but she had no idea how to proceed from this point. Her life had been – whether she had known it or not – always only been planned until the moment when it would be decided whether Chao was a survivor or a goner.


	3. The long way to happiness

_The long way to happiness_

* * *

_Two months later_

* * *

"I got a present for you, daughter," Lei said as he entered Min Li's room. He chose not to comment on her new haircut – having learned his lessons long ago – as he rested the heavy, large box on her bed. "How are you doing these days?"

She turned her head and looked out of the window. "Am I some sort of freak, father?"

"No," he said calmly. "Usually, no father would approve of his daughter loving a man twice her age. But … your mother and I, we love you. We don't know you good enough to truly judge and therefore, we accept your decision. Plus, better Chao than Jing or so I think."

She was silent for a moment as her fingers busied themselves with the sheath she had been fixing. "You knew?" she asked as she looked at the complicate work ahead of her.

"Probably longer than you did, yes," he said. "And, look, it's not that much of a deal, Min. No one can choose the person he or she falls for. I didn't choose your mother and neither did she choose me. We simply fell for each other … and learned to accept this, somewhere along the way."

"No one will accept this. They will all think that I am sick!"

"Among all the wives my father had, he loved no one more than my mother," he said patiently, "and she was thirty years younger than him. Xing is used to large age gaps – especially when nobility is involved – and all of your friends only want to see you happy and as long as he makes you happy he could – and I quote Laila-san on this – be from outer space and they would not mind. You may not believe this but to them, your happiness matters."

She bit her lip and averted her gaze from the sheath in her hands. "Thank you," she simply said.

"Open your present, daughter," he grinned, obviously relieved that the emotional talk was over, and leaned back. "I had made it specifically for you when I was in Xing."

She rose from her chair and crossed the room smoothly before she carefully removed the wrappings to get to the wooden box which she opened as well. Her jaw dropped as she lifted the armour up. "It's really for me?" she asked softly.

"Yes," her father said. "You are old enough to wear it now … and it fits your position as princess."

Her face scrunched up. "Well, that explains what took you this long," she said as she gently caressed the cold metal of her armour. "Let me guess … you had it made back in our hometown, didn't you? I recognise the design – that's truly an exclusive piece of work."

"The blacksmiths of your clan originally tried to refuse to forge this but … after I dropped a few hints that I might order a new armour for your mother as well, they quickly decided that it is not worth to refuse such a big request just to please your silly elders," he shrugged. "By the way, I expect you in the dojo in half an hour. We should try it out, right?"

* * *

"I hate to say this, Mustang, but you are disgustingly happy today," Olivier said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Don't tell me that something good happened and someone forgot to tell me." She frowned. "Well, did Victoria get engaged or something like that?"

"I am bothering Owen about that one but he kinda refuses to play along so no, she is not engaged yet," he replied cheerfully as he handed her a report. "Looks like Serena's and Jade's joined efforts finally paid out: they caught the real culprit behind the murder of Catherina and Peter, may they finally rest in peace."

The blond woman raised her eyebrow as she quickly read the report. "This means that Elric can come home," she said as she ran one hand through her hair. "I hope that whoever got the info first didn't call him because this would give away that we knew where he was hiding all along."

"Don't worry, we aren't _that_ stupid," Jean grinned as he caught up with him. "We informed emperor Ling, however, and I am pretty sure that he carefully passed on the information to his hometown where Edward might have heard it on the streets – did I tell you that he has seriously attempted to join the academy that educated bodyguards and was dispelled after three days?"

Olivier rested her hand against her forehead. "I didn't hear this yet but somehow, this sounds like him," she said as she shook her head. "Talking of Xing, why is the empress still here?"

"Lan Fan both visits her son and attends negotiations between Xing and Nippon because of the rice trade," Riza replied as she shrugged. "According to my sources, the relationship between Xing and Nippon has been tensed ever since Nippon declared itself independent two hundred years ago and since the current emperor is trying to make everyone his friend, he took up negotiations once more. Unfortunately, their relationship is too bad to have a meeting in either Xing or Nippon and since Nippon wants to make a few deals with Amestris as well, they decided to hold their negotiations here instead of somewhere else."

"Well, and so the empress lives where? I mean, if I had not met her at the Golden Dragon a few days back, I wouldn't have known that she is even in the country," Olivier said with a frown.

"You just said it: she is staying with her sister," Riza replied. "According to her, this is the safest place for her outside of Xing and I guess that this makes sense. Jun Li was a legendary warrior like her grandfather – may he rest in peace – and both Min Li and Chao have proven themselves on battlefields. Plus, with the amounts of travelling Xingese warriors who frequently stay in Jun Li's guesthouses, I can only assume that Lan Fan is safe there."

"Well, that's good because no one wants the Xingese empress murdered in Amestris," Jean said.

"True, true," Olivier nodded as she checked her watch. "Well, it's good that this meeting ended early so I can fetch my children from school and take them out for some ice cream. By the way, Mustang, I didn't ask you earlier – but how do you try to get Owen to propose?"

* * *

"…it's just that since she really _loved_ the last concert I was taking her too, I'd like to take her out to another one soon," the Storm Alchemist finished as he placed a last energetic signature under his report and looked up from his desk.

"Since you brought her up and mentioned something she loves, when are you going to give Vicky some sort of taken of your love and eternal gratitude?" Roy asked with a grin, pushing back his files to look at Owen. He truly enjoyed messing with the young alchemist because the young man was very entertaining when he felt confused and to confuse him was easy – once his girlfriend was brought up, the poor lad hardly knew what to say – especially when it was said girlfriend's overprotective father who mentioned her in a conversation.

The young man carefully placed his book – some collection of essays regarding Air Alchemy written by Jade – on his desk and raised an eyebrow. "Come again, sir?"

"You have been dating her for years now and as her father, I have any right to be interested in the question when I will get my first son-in-law," the chancellor said cheerfully.

"She made quite clear that she wants no ring until she is a good deal older – whatever that means," his assistant stated stoically and he cursed the fact that Owen Johnson had been Jade Mustang's student in many subjects but especially in acting unconcerned and ignorant.

"She got boring," Roy sighed. "I had truly hoped that I could start some public drama about how my little princess is all grown up – and there she goes and does the reasonable thing … if this keeps up, Hughes is going to outmatch me by far."

"What do you mean by _public drama_, sir?"

"Threatening to disown her – not that I actually could do that but who cares?, tears and general tragedy for some weeks if not months until some sort of tearful, heartbreaking reunion."

"Sir, you are hopefully kidding me," the young alchemist said with a sigh.

"No, Owen, I am not kidding. The citizens of Amestris pay so many taxes that are partially used for the chancellor and his income among a lot of other things and the least I can do is to create some drama every once in a while to keep my people entertained."

"With all due respect, sir, you sound a little bit crazy right now."

"And yet, you will have to deal with me for the next fifty years because as soon as I am no longer your boss, I will be your father-in-law and this is will be far scarier for you."

"I got a question – shouldn't you as her father be totally against a wedding?"

"I might be if it was someone I had not known since he was a kid," Roy shrugged. "I trust you, Owen, not only with my office and my appointments but also with my daughter – and that also means that if you ever betray this trust, I will have to hunt you down."

"Sounds fair," the young man shrugged. "And I had expected you to say something like that."

"By the way, Owen, Riza and I are in Creta next month but we kinda have to be present at various cultural events while we aren't in town and you see how that won't work. Since Laila is busy with her final work and Nick promised to take are of events out of town, I was wondering whether you would grab Vicky and drag her to a few of those events?" the chancellor tried his very best to seem as innocent as possible which failed miserably. "Look, you can tell her that I will personally make sure that she can bring as many friends as she wants to…"

Owen raised his eyebrow and considered calling his boss out on his slightly obvious plan before he sighed deeply. "You see, I might be actually able to squeeze this into my schedule. By the way, who is dealing with the regular matters of the office while you and the vice are both gone?"

"Jade and Olivier – call me before they start a war I wouldn't approve of."

"Dutifully noted," his assistant smirked as he sat down on his desk again. "Anything else?"

"Yes – Edward Elric will return soon and seeing that I would like to have Serena's wedding free of any false accusations about the bride, I'd like to ask you to get in touch with the department for international affairs down at the ministry for the foreign, with the department for border control at the ministry for inner affairs and with Agent Ross over at the secret service," he sighed. "All in all, you should be able to work something out. Hell – how does it come that I personally made sure that Fullmetal no longer falls into my department and he still manages to take my time because of his gift to get into enough trouble to make everything a case for me? Seriously, Serena should do a better job at keeping him away from me."

Owen chuckled. "Don't forget that Miss Hawkeye will be on a honeymoon soon, sir."

The chancellor only growled.

* * *

"Nerissa, stop glaring at me – I won't wear a … a penguin suit."

"Uncle Berthold," she said in her low and dangerous voice that was strictly reserved for situations where she could not guarantee for her self-control. "You will wear a tuxedo at my little sister's wedding because otherwise, I will have no choice but I murder you right here and now."

"You remind me a lot of your mother," he said with a glare as he stood his ground.

"Well, there is one difference – she could scream that she will throw you out of the house as much as she wanted to and was still unable to go through with it while I can and will throw you out if you aren't cooperating with me," she said sweetly. "And please, don't compare me to her, will you? I am a lot scarier than her if I put my mind into it. You have to appreciate that."

"I really wonder how you could ever get a boyfriend," he muttered as he crossed his arms. "But are you seriously for real about this, Nessa?"

"You asked that question before I cut your hair and before I sent you shave properly … so what makes you even consider the option that I might not be for real right now?" she asked as she held out the tuxedo once more. "I read an amazing line somewhere: _my way or the highway._ Choose your poison and hurry up a little bit – we have a lot left to do."

He sighed deeply as he accepted the tuxedo. "Nerissa, I have to admit that unlike your mother, you are seriously scary without having to resort to threats of physical violence."

"That might be because I have learned that a threat only works with the other person considers it likely that you will do what you announced," she shrugged. "And since I know that you know that I would never pick a fight with out – simply because you would win – I see no reason why I should bother with empty and pointless threats if there are other threats that actually work."

"And this realisation all alone makes you already a wiser person than many," he said. "Give me a moment, I will change and then I will make sure that Luis gets dressed as well."

She nodded as she took a step back. "Thank you for coming back," she said softly. "I know that all of this has not been easy for you either – dad was your friend after all – but I am happy that you were here for Riza and Serena. Talking of them, how did they take it?"

"Serena snapped," he said after a moment. "Yes, that actually scared me a little bit because I have seen what her alchemy can do – I felt it so many times on my own body that I can hardly consider my fear of this alchemy irrational anymore. I have felt how ice burns."

"I know," she said as she toyed with her necklace. "How bad … how bad was it for Riza?"

"She is … silent when it comes to her pain," he replied calmly. "I think that she suffered as bad as Serena – especially since one of her co-workers was accused of the murder – but unlike Rena, she did not take out her anger on someone else. She … she probably hurt as well but she did not show her pain … as far as I remember, this was always her way to cope."

She closed her eyes. "Against … against who did Serena turn?" she asked because she knew that Serena would never have turned against someone she might seriously hurt because even at her worst, she had always more common sense than to attack someone who was incapable of dealing with her anger – and right now, the only one who could face Serena's wrath and walk away alive would be either Phil or herself since they have both faced the younger woman's inner darkness before and they had both survived to tell the tale.

"Against that Mustang-boy, Abigail's son," her uncle replied with a faint smile. "From what I heard from his sister – who is a quite reasonable woman, just like her mother – they nearly hospitalised each other. Not that this is a surprise … they are not state alchemists for nothing after all," he added with a frown and she sighed because she knew that he had never approved of someone as gifted as her sisters and everyone else joining the army as a state alchemist.

* * *

She was pacing around and he smiled at her as he calmly set on the chair. He had been the only one to know that she was often anything but serene and so he had offered to stay with her until the ceremony would truly begin. Somehow, this felt strange because in his childlike logic, it seemed wrong to give away the woman he had loved first to another man but her happiness was what mattered most and so he would live through the loss of the one had loved most.

"Can't you sit down for a moment?" he asked as he scratched his neck. She twirled around, blue eyes full of light and he remembered why he was doing this – because she deserved to be happy and for her happiness, he would do it all. He had done everything for Jade and he would do even more for her – with the difference that everything he did for her was done on his own.

"Is there really a need for me to sit down?" she asked as she raised her skirts to walk up the single step that separated them. She, too, felt that something was about to change and she was happy that this was their moment and that no one else was there because it was necessary for them to be alone with themselves. Anything or anyone else would only distract them … and so she sat down next to him. For a moment, she wondered what lie he was telling himself today because she knew that he was bad at giving someone up. He had told her himself that he had nearly considered killing himself at Jade's wedding just to keep her as his in his heart and so that he would never have to share her.

"I am not sure," he admitted. "It just makes me nervous if you keep pacing around like that, Rena. Plus, we need to have that long overdue conversation."

Her fists clenched at her sides because this time, she was truly out of words. "I think … that if we ever were reborn, we would be side-by-side again," she said slowly as she tried to think of something smart and witty, of something Kay would have said. "I don't think that we were in love in this life … but we might have been in another one where we made different decisions."

He smiled, appreciating her wit and her refusal to say those overused three words because what they had shared for so long was far more than love. In another life, yes, they might have been meant to be but not in this one. She would be happy with Max and he was happy with Bea and this way, everyone would be happy because everyone had someone to hold and to love. They had been too old for fairytales anyway and so they had not gotten a fairytale where the prince and the princess got married and lived happily ever after because the prince married his knight because he had fallen for her and the princess married the healer because he had been there to piece her back together after she had fallen apart.

And how could they complain?

They had seen the damages 'true and unconditional love' caused and somehow, he was happy that they had not suffered the way Olivier and Bendix had lived for so many years, bound in shackles of denial. Even if they had not been lovers, they had been happy together and this was what mattered right now – that they had not wasted any chances and that they had no regrets.

"We will forever be happy," she said after a moment. "This is more than everyone else had, right? Jade suffered because of Lynn, because she had lost someone who mattered more to her than her own life. I am happy that we never faced this despair and that … we don't have any regrets. We have always brought out the best and the worst in each other … and that is what I want to remember because … love is not perfection. True friendship is."

"And this is why I am happy to call you my friend," he replied. "While we suffered, we never suffered as much as others did … and for this reason, I will be forever grateful."

* * *

"…behave, Edward," Winry hissed as she stabbed her finger into his chest. "I know that you are nervous but please, simply try to play it cool – and this includes not jumping at the chancellor or anyone else and scream at them because of the food in Xing, yes?"

"Yes, yes," he sighed as he followed her through the foyer of the reception hall. "Hey, there's Nerissa! Let's go and say hello – she looks like she might need the distraction – poor girl looks a little pale … do you think that she is sick? I think she got a greenish hue…"

His wife barely managed to grab his arm as he made a mad dash through the crowd to get to the bride's sister as fast as he could. "Ed – what did I just tell you?" she asked with a sigh.

"I ain't saying anything about the food if that's what worries you," he said cheerfully as he stopped in front of the tall blonde. "Say, Nerissa, are you feeling sick? Because you look anything but … healthy right now…"

She smiled thinly. "This might be because thanks to a certain blond-haired alchemist, I hardly got any sleep lately," she said with a huff. "You know, Elric, the next time you get yourself thrown into prison, I will just sit back and drink tea if that's alright with you."

"You know, Nerissa, this does not look like exhaustion," Winry said before Edward could snap back. "You look like you are about to vomit … did you eat something bad?"

The older woman shook her head. "No, I haven't eaten anything today … but don't worry about me, Winry. It will pass – and if it gets worse, I will go to the hospital and have it checked out. I am a little more reasonable than Serena when it comes to those things."

"Talking of Serena … what's the deal with her and Phil anyway?" Edward asked. "I mean, is it normal that the ex-lover walks the bride down the aisle? What about your uncle?"

"Well, this is something I have never considered before…" Nerissa said as she rubbed her neck. "I am not sure whether they are really ex-lovers. Sure, I have seen the same things you have seen, Edward, but … in the end, whatever used to be between them is gone and in any case, it should stay between them. I personally think that they were some sort of platonic lovers … that they had a certain sort of attraction but that they never lived this attraction – like Olivier and Bendix while they were still in denial," she sighed. "I am not good with human emotions but I seriously think that there used to be something and that they were both aware of it."

"Like Min Li and Chao?" Winry asked as she mentioned towards the Xingese duo that awkwardly circled over the dance floor. "Forget about the age gap – that's love. Don't you agree, Ed?"

"Seeing that my father was multiple decades older than my mother, I seriously don't mind this at all," Edward shrugged. "And she has never looked this comfortable before. So it's cool with me."

"Her parents are alright with it as well," Nerissa said as she looked after the couple. "And they are probably a good deal stricter than most parents. I mean, Jun Li was commander of an elite force before she left her country. Some values surely stick."

Meimei Cho, a vision in her emerald kimono with the golden obi, approached them and gently patted Nerissa's shoulder. "Say, Hamilton-san, is that just me or is there really a nice new ring glittering on your finger?" she asked politely as she crossed her arms.

"Actually, we got already married in a private ceremony in Ishbal," Nerissa replied with a smile as she shrugged. "We are both no people who like fancy things and so it was the easiest for us to get married with only us and no one else. Vicky didn't speak with me for a few days when she figured it out … but I think that judging the way everything played out, it was the best."

"Since you brought him up, how is he dealing with all of this? I mean, you are having a long-distance relationship … judging from my experiences, this is sometimes kinda hard, isn't it?" Winry asked as she gently patted the older woman's shoulder.

"This is one of the two reasons why I will move to Ishbal. The other reasons are that I outlived my purpose in this town and that otherwise, Uncle Berthold and I will murder each other one day. Luis will stay, of course, because Central is where he belongs."

* * *

"Master Hawkeye? You have been staring out of this window for half an hour now," Roy said as he stepped behind his former teacher and father-in-law. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Peter … I was wondering whether he is mad at me for winning the bet," the older alchemist said as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I always told him that I would be the one to see all of his daughters' with a wedding band and … I was right. I saw pictures of Kay and Lynn … and that counts … and he never saw Nerissa and Serena … and that's kinda sad."

"Yeah," Roy nodded. "It is pretty sad to realise how many we lost along the years."

"I will take care of Luis … I already talked about it with Nessa. She is moving to Ishbal because Central holds too many painful memories for her while Ishbal is where happiness and freedom have their home. I can't blame her. I hold more positive feelings for Ishbal than for Central as well after all … Ishbal rid the world of my sister and Central stole some of the kindest."

"Don't you think that it's kinda ironic? You and Peter have the habit of taking over for each other, don't you? When he left the first time, you were there to catch Kay and the others and when you were gone, he was there to take care of everything. He babysat the kids quite often … that's something we will never forget about him."

"I am happy that you didn't mention this in your speech at his grave. The country is better off remembering Peter as the fearless general who won countless battles than as the soft babysitter and grandfather our family will remember him as – and it's good like this."

"I would have guessed that you would prefer your friend to be remembered as someone who was kind and friendly than as someone he hasn't been in more than a decade."

"I want him to be remembered as the hero he used to be," Berthold said quietly. "Peter and Catherina both, they were decent people. I admired them both and I know that they died because they chose not to fight anymore. If you lived decades of battles, you get tired."

"You know their way of reasoning quite well, don't you? Knox senior really figured that they saw their attacker and yet, they did not defend themselves against him."

"Peter and I were friends for longer than you or anyone else of you youngsters has been alive," Berthold said. "With the exception of Abigail and Abel and my in-laws, there is no one I have known longer or … better. Peter and I, we were brothers and that's what I remember him as."

"You and my aunt and my uncle … you used to be good friends, right?"

"They are reasonable people and among my closest friends – not that this means much. I don't have many friends and everyone I deem my friend is a close friend of mine," he replied as he watched how Abigail and Alain circled over the dance floor. "I sometimes envied their happiness because I used to think that they had gotten it for free."

"They paid a high price as well," Roy said as he remembered the vacant eyes his aunt still had on some days when the memories of her brother came to haunt her. "They have been through a lot – neither Jade nor Phil are people I'd like to be my children because they break your heart."

"That's what I never realised because it seemed so strange," he said quietly. "The day Jadelina was kidnapped, it was the very first time that I saw Abigail in a state of distress since your father's death. I was strangely relieved because I had doubted her ability to feel pain."


	4. Growing back together

_Growing back together_

* * *

To Roy Mustang, the next one and a half year was strangely painful because he saw what Phil had been trying to hide for as long as they had lived: the younger one was a bad loser – especially when he had lost in a game he had not even known he was playing. Roy was wondering why Phil had never fought for this before he remembered that Phil had given up on Serena before she had returned and Phil was too much of a good man to break his wife's heart. Furthermore, there was still Nerissa's theory that they had been platonic lovers – whatever that meant.

At the same time, Roy also started to see Phil through Jade's eyes and saw him with all his flaws that seemed so ridiculously unimportant compared to his good sides, to his eternal forgiveness and his kindness. Jade was disillusioned when it came to her brother's flaws but since she saw him in such a bright light that nothing could throw shadows on her. Roy admired Jade's patience and her drive to keep going until she had personally erased everything that had given Edward a bad name – which had been quite a lot to do and given Jade's dislike towards Edward's tendencies to get her into trouble, this said a lot about her as a person who was able to forgive former disagreements.

He sighed deeply as he let his eyes roam over the surface of his desk that was for once not covered in half-done paperwork because his assistant had done most of it while he had been in a meeting and this said a lot about Owen because he did his job without asking for much appreciation and this was a trait everyone should like about the young man. The thought of Owen was followed by a thought of Victoria and accordingly Nick as well, because it was the twins' birthday – which also explained why Owen had left the office like a bat out of hell to pick up his girlfriend once her lessons at the university had been over.

Talking of the devil.

The door opened as Nick strode into the room and sat down in front of the desk. "I have thought a lot about this, dad, and I think that I will help Olivier with her project," he began without further ado. "She needs someone who can give instructions on how to fly and up to now, no one in the army has flown one of the planes. I have used most of them by now and Jade trusts me with them – and seeing that the ministry of science bought them in first place, Olivier will need one of their people to even get access to the training places."

"You are no member of the ministry of science, Nick."

"I have been there for weeks, doing multiple internships to increase my chances to get a decent job once I finished at the university. Plus, Jade said that I can get onboard whenever I want to. They need handsome guys like me to broaden their perspectives … I guess she means that she wants more women to pursue a career at her ministry."

"Which makes hardly any sense given that she is going to retire in six years."

"Six years are a long time if you simply want to make a profession in the government more attractive for women," his son chuckled. "Plus, Elicia is going there … I mean, that's the most interesting job for someone with a degree in chemistry."

"She is still pursuing this dream? I guess that explains her father's enthusiasm lately."

"Eli is a tough one and that she can create bombs doesn't make her any less amazing and pretty in my eyes … I mean, how many guys my age can say that they are dating a girl who nearly blew up her old school and get a full stipend for the best university for chemistry in the country. It just sucks that she is mostly down in Lionnenburg while I am in Central City."

"You are probably the only one who can keep up with the speed she moves from a normal little girl to the best expert of explosives we had since Kimblee went crazy," Roy said as he crossed his arms. "Then again, it's not like you are slow either, Nick. All of you are developing fast."

"I failed to keep up with the speed Victoria's world moved in but I can keep up with most other people," his son replied. "I am slow compared to other people – especially compared to my sisters but whatever I do, I do it at my own pace. And I understood something they will never see."

"Your sister develops at an impressive speed," Roy said as he leaned back. "But now, do me a favour and share this new-found wisdom with me. I mean … we are both in this game."

"We … we are all human and we try so very hard to get by and we … sell ourselves short. We say always say 'no big deal' to sound like we really don't care about our own success and yet, it does matter to us and we are proud … but we are too scared to show this because we have learned that being happy with something we did means to be arrogant and we don't want to be seen like that," Nick said. "To Vicky, it is a big deal that she is currently reconstructing Lan Fan's arm even though she claims that it's her job. No, it is not her job to fix something that no one else could have fixed. Laila says that she does not mind that no one of us could attend the opening ceremony of the building she designed last year but she does mind. She is not happy."

* * *

Green eyes narrowed before an arrow zapped through the air to pierce the target.

The blond girl smirked as she brushed back her sweaty bangs. "Good," she said.

"Good aim, Laila-san, and your patience helps you greatly, doesn't it?" Meimei Cho said as she rose from the bench she had been sitting on. "Well, it's time to grab our stuff and head back to town. Your mother is probably stressed because of the birthday party."

"Why did you agree on working with me on my technique?" Laila asked as she shouldered her bag. "Min Li said that you swore to never teach again after what happened to them."

"In the end, there is a difference because I don't have to prepare you for a battle where you will fight to the death. You have taken up archery as some sort of hobby and so did I. Not even once, I carried a bow on my back when I entered a battlefield … because this is my hobby and it should not be stained as well," the woman said as she shouldered her own bow. "Well, I guess that we should drive back to town, get a shower and head over to the party – preferably before Nick-san and Elicia-san go missing and are found making out … which happened the last few times."

"I fear that Vicky might get violent if she finds them again," Laila grinned as she unlocked the door of her car. "By the way, you are working in the governmental district … did anyone see her leave her laboratory today? Because it would be just like her to forget about her own birthday."

"I heard the rumour that Min Li and Owen are kidnapping her for lunch with them – they are her best friends after all and I could imagine that they have really prepared something for her," the warrior smiled thinly as she brushed back a strand of her hair. "I think it's sweet."

"Since you mentioned Min … did you hear anything about her and Chao lately?"

"Jun Li seems to try and uphold a few rules … and that means that she insisted on a duel between her and Chao. I heard from Ping that Lei-san voiced unhappiness with that plan but in the end, he cannot do much because Jun Li has had everything her way."

"She should get used to losing battles as well," Laila stated as she threw her equipment into the trunk. "She may carry royal blood in her veins and be married to a prince but Chao bears the same blood and he has proven himself capable of protecting Min Li before, right?"

"This is what I believe to be so interesting: both Chao-kun and Jun Li-sama have made their intentions and reasons known before – and now, they seem to be discussing their implied intentions – what they never said but always meant. This is about far more than the obvious."

"Do you consider it possible that this is about their oldest argument as well?"

"In case that Jun Li looses, she will have no other way but to renounce any intentions to seize power within their clan, yes," Meimei said as she sat down on the passenger seat. "I personally think that this is the reason why they are taking this long. Half a year – even my parents did not need so much time to discuss the details of my marriage with Ping's parents," she added with an afterthought. "I personally think – and Min agrees with me there – that the more time Jun Li and Chao take, the more is at the stakes. If it was simply a marriage, they would have solved this a long time ago. But this is about the final solution regarding their family's line."

"You have surely a brilliant insight," Laila remarked as she steered her car out of the forest and back into the direction of the capital. "I mean, is that part of your job?"

"When Yao-sama trained me, he made sure that I know everything outsiders know about the different clans and this way, I learned a lot about invisible power struggles … that's when you have no real proof of an argument but when you still see it," the woman replied. "It's funny but arguments beneath an upheld façade attract more attention than open fights. Jun Li-sama knows this has well … she has not been an Imperial Bodyguard for nothing … but she hides their struggle differently and would claim that her doubts are because of her former arguments with her cousin … that she is questioning his intentions or something like this."

The blonde was silent for a moment. "The day Vicky becomes chancellor, she will need someone like you," she said after a moment. "You are a people person, right? You have more insight than most people have … with or without your superior chi senses, correct?"

"My chi senses can tell me nothing my eyes wouldn't see as well, yes," Meimei confirmed with a small smile. "I saw the gleam in Nerissa-san's eyes and knew that she was with child before I felt the tiny amount of chi in her womb. That's what Min had with Serena-san."

* * *

Jun Li Wei exhaled as she stared at the red leaves that slowly drifted down, dancing in the wind and reminding her of the fact that human life was not meant to be forever. She sighed as she rose and bound her black hair into a low ponytail before she shed her silken robe. For a moment, she stood on the terrace behind her house dressed in only her cotton pants with the old blue shirt that still bore the insignia of her clan, their clan on the back.

For a moment, she wondered how many years had passed since the last time she had worn those clothes, since the last time she had faced a challenge from within her own clan, from someone who shared her blood and her history. It had been more than ten years ago and somehow, she was confused because of this. She had never forfeit any challenge and she would not forfeit this time either because such a challenge was about respect – and no matter how much she had loathed her cousin along the years, she would never insult his pride and his honour.

"Is it time?" Lan Fan asked. Her hair was bound into an elegant bun and she wore clothes befitting her social status within their clan – the clothes of a warrior. Her armour – a present their grandfather had bought for her eighteenth birthday which she had never worn before because there had never been a fitting moment – was polished and at her belt rested the katana that used to belong to their father. Jun Li had never understood why her sister clung to this piece of metal like this because their father had not died the death of a warrior – he had died from a stab wound to the back – a wound no warrior should ever receive.

"You can still back out if you cannot agree with those terms," Jun Li replied as she sheathed her own katana. "I know that you are not happy with my decisions … but I thought that…"

"You misunderstood my reaction. To be honest, I never considered another option because the gap between the lines has become a problem along the years," the empress said as they took the way to the training hall of the house. "I would only have preferred a way without this battle between you and Chao … you know why. I never liked the idea of relatives fighting each other."

"I will make this up to you, all of this," Jun Li promised. "I am sorry for making you watch all of this … but you are the only high-ranking member left that is neither part of the council of elders nor Min Li … and you understand that I couldn't ask her to be the witness … I considered to make her watch this … in order to prove that I care and that I do love her … but then I realised that there is always a chance that I will end up seriously hurting Chao."

"I have to hand it to you that you chose the date wisely," Lan Fan said. "Today is Victoria's birthday and so it is likely that Min Li will be out to celebrate with all her friends."

"To be honest, this was what I hoped for."

"So in the end, your ways do not differ from grandfather's," the younger sister sighed.

"You are right, huh?" Jun Li laughed softly. "But yes, we were cut from the same cloth – in our strengths and our weaknesses, we truly are one and the same. It's strangely amusing."

* * *

"…no, no, no!" Min Li exclaimed as she kicked into Owen's general direction. "Look, you are seriously failing at this. Yes, you got a pretty ring but you have to kneel. Tori is a girl who appreciates it when things are done the right way … and for that kind of thing, _kneeling_ is the way to go."

"You are supposed to help me – not to freak out at everything I do," he said as he rubbed his neck. "I swear to everything that's holy, Min, if you ever get married and do anything in a way I consider improper, you will have to suffer through my explanations of how to marry properly."

She growled as him before she shook her head. "Look, Owen," she said softer. "You are my friend and so I seriously care about you. You are, however, making this harder than it has to be and so I'd really appreciate it if you would simply go ahead and do this the way it simply should be."

"Why did I ask you for help, again?" he sighed as he kneeled down. "Alright, here I go: Victoria, we have been through a lot and I know that it's not always easy with me because I tend to get onto your nerves and have a hard time to express myself but I love you and-"

"Stop right there," Min Li interrupted him. "You shouldn't give her reasons why marrying you might be a bad idea. You should be telling her that you will make her happier than everyone else ever could. Secondly, you never said 'I love you' before and you really shouldn't start now."

"I thought that girls like this sappy stuff," he muttered as he closed his eyes. It seemed like this entire proposal thing was more complicated than anyone – and by anyone, he meant his boss – had never told him that there were so many things he had to pay attention to.

"Girls do, Tori doesn't," Min Li said as she leaned back in her chair. "I know that you discussed your inability to say 'I love you' and I know that she understands that you cannot say something like that because of everything you have been through. She would get suspicious if you'd suddenly blurt out that you love her because … that doesn't sound like you at all. And no one wants to marry someone who acts during the proposal. She wants to marry the real you."

"Okay, okay," Owen sighed as he clapped his hands. "I guess that I know what to do now."

"You are sure that you really don't want to keep exercising?" Min Li asked as she grabbed her bag and followed him as they left the office. "Well, obviously not," she muttered as they took the way that led to the laboratories where Victoria was working on one of her infamous projects.

"Her mother once said that the most characteristic thing about our relationship is that the timing is never right," he said as he unlocked the doors in between of them and the redhead. "That's why I cannot do a proper and perfect proposal without having the worst timing ever."

"Ugh," she sighed as she leaned against the doorframe. "You two are the death end of romance."

He rolled his eyes as he entered the laboratory where his girlfriend was busily going through manuscripts and prepared some major transmutation. It was always the same when Victoria was allowed to the laboratories. Originally, she had not been allowed there because she was too young and no official member of the Ministry of Science that owned these laboratories. Then, she had finished the complicate project her mother had never managed to complete and accordingly, Jade had – after much protest from Roy – gave her niece a position very similar to the position of a state alchemist before Victoria had thrown her earlier resentments over board and had applied for the position of a state alchemist, only to pass with flying colours – as she would have ever since she had started to study and perfect healing alchemy.

"Hey, Vicky," he said as he gently touched her shoulder as she frowned at the sulphur on the glass while she took a note. "I was wondering … whether you'd like to marry me."

"Pass me the book, would you?" she asked, extending her hand.

He smirked as he gently pushed the box with the ring into her hand. "There you go," he chuckled.

She threw him a glare as she opened the box. "I asked for the book, not for a r-ring," she stuttered as she started to realise. "Oh god, oh my god," she whispered. "Owen…"

"Hey, you know that our timing has the tendency to be terrible," he grinned as he wrapped her discarded white coat around her shoulders. "By the way, I had some fancy speech prepared … I just didn't feel like it would fit you at the moment. And before you say anything, I am totally cool with a long engagement, Vicky, seriously."

She smiled as she turned around and kissed him onto the corner of his mouth. "Sorry," she apologised as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I was so focused onto my experiment…"

"I saw Fu's mother today when I was at the meeting with your dad," he said as he held her close. "I would say that you did one hell of a job at her new arm."

"Ling borrowed me his Philosopher's Stone … and that thing is crazily powerful," she replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I've never seen something like this before. Too bad that it's forbidden to create them or I'd kill for the change to do some further experiments."

"That's my girl," he grinned.

"Your fiancée," she said with an equally wide smirk.

* * *

Riza hurried through the house, greeting more and more guests while she kept looking for the birthday children who were still missing. She swore to herself that this was the last time she would prepare a party of them because they should have known better than to be late.

"Oi, Rize, calm down," Nerissa said cheerfully as she approached her cousin. She was rocking her daughter, Sarai, back and forth as she carried a bunch of presents. Behind her, forever her greatest fan, walked her brother who had pestered his guardian into coming earlier – not that Riza appreciated the fact that her father was about to witness her mental breakdown.

"I am calm," the younger blonde snapped as she looked around, still hoping to spot a flash of red and black. "Where is Laila? She said that she'd be here early…"

"I am here, mommy," the green-eyed girl called out as she ran down the stairs, a flash of white and gold. "And I got a call from Min Li – they are on the way now as well."

Behind the oldest daughter, the Xingese archery expert bowed her head and smiled politely before she busied herself with arranging the flowers Riza had not had the patience to deal with yet. The heiress of the Cho-clan was a guest Riza liked to see because the Xingese was calm and collected and tried to help wherever she could without being a bother.

"Thank you very much, Meimei," Riza sighed as she grabbed the presents from Luis and arranged them on a table. "I took the day off to have the time to arrange everything and then, Rachel fell down the stairs at school and I had to pick her up. I am sorry that everything is still in such a mess … usually, this wouldn't happen to me."

"Don't worry, Rize," Nerissa said with a carefree laugh. "You sit down and hold Sarai for me while I will take care of the rest. Luis, you stay with Aunty Riza and make sure that she relaxes."

The door was unlocked and Roy pushed the Destructive Trio (Victoria, Owen and Min Li) into the large room. "Sorry for being late, Riza, but we got stuck in the traffic on our way," he apologised as he quickly kissed her. "Hello, Luis and Sarai. How are you?"

The one-year-old look at him just as unimpressed as her mother whenever someone told Nerissa that she would be better of in the capital and with a different husband but grabbed Roy's hair and yanked with all the might a little child could muster which was quite a lot.

Victoria who strolled over to the couch to greet her mother chuckled. "Sorry for being late, mom, I was running an experiment and forgot about the time," she apologised. "If Owen and Min hadn't come to get me, I'd be still down at the laboratory."

Instantly, her grandfather appeared by her side and they started one of their discussions that circled around alchemy. Riza had never assumed that there might be someone but Nerissa who could hold her father's interest for a prolonged time _and_ make him loose his cool but seeing that Victoria was just as much of a spitfire as Kay had been, it had probably to be expected that she and the original Flame Alchemist would get along quite nicely after getting rid of an original argument which everyone had to pass in order to be seen as an equal.

"Owen," Roy started as he looked at his assistant. "I missed you at the office today. Where have you been? I was already fearing that you might have been kidnapped…"

"We were practising," Min Li said as she smiled brightly. "I _kidnapped_ him before he got to work."

Victoria raised her eyebrow but she stood behind her father and so he could not see her expression – which would not helped him anyway because the three of them were good actors.

* * *

Lan Fan hated this entire situation even though it made sense. It was the only way it could work out and yet, she wished that it had not been necessary for her sister to fight their cousin. This was one of the moments when she wondered why she could not have been born into a normal family where conflicts were solved through conservations instead of violence. True, this battle was different from the earlier ones because this time, there were rules and yet, she was unhappy about the entire situation – because this not was what she had wanted.

"Are you scared, Jun Li?" Chao inquired as he handed his sword to Lan Fan. He had left his shirt and his robe at the entrance of the hall and to Lan Fan, it seemed like he had not aged a single day since the last time she had seen him about to be serious in a battle.

"Scared?" she repeated. "How could I? This was my choice and this will set me free – given that you win. Do I look like someone who is scared of freedom, Chao?" She exhaled as she held out her katana to her husband. "Take care of my sword, will you?" she asked as she pushed up her sleeves. "Do not worry, Lan Fan. I will be still fine in the end."

"This is not what I am worried about," she replied as she frowned at her older sister. "I am worried about the consequences … even though I really shouldn't be … for this was never my fight."

Behind her, Lei moved smoothly to help her with the unfamiliar weight of Jun Li's katana. Her sister had chosen an extraordinarily heavy weapon for her training and regular fights to be stronger and more powerful with a lighter one in case of a serious battle.

"Are you reading, Chao?" Jun Li asked as she shed off her own shirt to stand in the middle of the room dressed in bandages and her wide pants. This had not been part of her original script for the fight but if her cousin fought shirtless, she was doing the same. This was about equality.

Chao exhaled and once more, he marvelled at the fact that his chest did not hurt. This fight was – in spite of its reason – something he had waited for all his life. It had been his dream to fight Jun Li in this kind of fight where bruises and broken bones were the worst thing that might happen. But for so long, it had been nothing but a dream, a faint idea of something that would never happen. He had told himself over and over to move on from this dream and to find another goal but a true dream did not burn out easily. Right now, he was happy about this because this fight was not about pride or fear. This was about making peace with themselves and their past faults, about setting an end to the tears all of them had cried when they had been torn between what they wanted and what they needed.

Jun Li was a woman made of steel and he had been a man made of stone. In this aspect, they might have worked but Lei was fire and he had molten Jun Li and forged her into something better, something stronger while Min Li who was so much like the water that it was not even funny anymore had formed him into someone smoother, softer – more reliable and kinder.

And so, the last thing they needed was closure, closure for their teenager rivalries.

"This will be our last fight, Jun," he said as he raised his fists and then, silence reigned as they smoothly circled around each other. It was silent enough for him to hear her moves and this was something he could be proud of because she had been trained to cause hardly a sound when she stepped. His eyes closed on their own accord and all he did was listening to her rhythm.

Lan Fan watched intently how the older warriors twisted and turned, hardly ever touching one other because of their experience and their former spars. They knew each other too well and so Jun Li easy backflipped and somersaulted when Chao finally attacked. Their fight reminded the young empress of a beautifully choreographed yet deadly dance – because one wrong step and pain would be sure to follow.

_'He is faster and stronger, now,'_ Jun Li remarked to herself as she felt the impact of his feet on her ribcage. _'Three years ago, I'd have easily dodged that one. Chao … how? And why? What did you do to yourself to gain this strength?_ _I_ _mean, you aren't supposed to be like this, remember?'_

She knew that if this was a real battle with weapons, she would be desperately fighting for her life at this point and yet, she only smiled. "For you to be passionate about a fight is rare," she stated as she avoided another blow.

"I have to make all of this happen," he replied. "If I want to turn a dream into reality, I have to win – and there is no doubt that I need to win today. You preached the power of dreams for more than twenty years, Jun, now you need to face reality."

* * *

Serena's eyes narrowed as they started to gleam dangerously and Nerissa rolled her eyes as she spotted her sister's facial expression. "Okay," the older sister said. "We are playing a game now: what amuses Serena and makes her look like she is insane right now?"

"Sorry, Nessa, but I am done playing games," Serena smiled as she crossed her arms.

"I'm still faster than you, Major," Olivier grinned as she appeared behind Victoria. _"Nice ring, Vic."_

Later on, Nick would claim that this remark caused a chain reaction. Nerissa and Serena threw a – very silent – fit at the size of the diamond while Roy rose from his chair – and this was the only truly interesting moment because Roy was known to be overprotective – which explained why both Riza and Jade rested each one hand on his shoulders to hold him back – just in case. Maes lowered his camera for a moment and turned around to watch his friend. Phil who had been playing with little Hope on the floor raised his gaze and protectively cradled the toddler in his arms where she should be safe from most things. Olivier who had caused the commotion merely smirked in a way that suggested that she would consider patting her own shoulder if that would not be too pathetic for her standards.

"So, Owen," Roy said as he towered over the … taller man. "Looks like you finally followed me advise? Well done, my boy. I personally like the ring … let me guess, you dragged Min Li to the jewellery store because she knew what kind of ring Victoria would like, right?"

"Yes, sir," Owen replied as he bowed his head. "You are completely right."

"Oh dear, you really shouldn't have said this," Riza sighed as she let go of her husband.

"Yeah, Roy's going to be intolerable now that you boosted his ego," Jade laughed as she wrapped one arm around her cousin. "Seriously, it like the ring you chose, Owen. Min Li sure gives some solid advice at times."

"She surely does," Meimei remarked from her corner where she had been drinking the Aerugian red wine Claudio had brought. "That was maybe no part of the lessons I tried her to teach but I am still happy with the way she turned out in the end. It was worth my struggle."

"Meimei-sensei!" the young woman in question explained as she hugged her former instructor. "I am honoured to hear that you think like this … I mean, you have been always so hard on me."

"Like I was on Olivier," Charlotte said, lifting her head from her husband's shoulder. "If you are a woman who has succeeded in this world, you realise that you will get nothing for free … and to make sure that someone you care for can succeed, you have to be hard on him or her – because otherwise, they will fail pathetically. I guess that Kay was very much the same, huh?"

Jade's brows furrowed. "I cannot remember that you were hard on me, madam," she said with her old emotionless and stoic military voice. "I was feeling like you were rather easy-going…"

"The difference between you and Liv was that you had it all figured out when you started out … you had a plan and a second option … plus, I never had to worry about you, Lynn or Serena because it was obvious that you would run and get to the goal."

"You were state alchemists and that made things easier for you," Leroy added. "I will not claim that it was a walk in the park but … it was still easier for you than it was for Olivier, Riza or another female officer that did not happen to have a fancy state alchemist watch."

"But isn't it wrong that girls have it harder than boys?" Fu asked from his place next to his father.

"It is wrong but … it is difficult to change," Ling admitted before he ruffled Victoria's hair. "So, Future Mrs Johnson … you might want to add fight for equality to your list of things why you are going to be chancellor once your father over there is no longer interested in the job."

"It's obvious that Lan Fan is missing," Edward remarked drily. "You are just as much of a fool as you always were when she was not around to make sure that you don't kill yourself."

"Congratulations, Vicky," Laila said as she hugged her sister and nearly shattered her ribcage.

"Thanks, Lai," the redhead said as she tried to free herself. "I promise that I will spend more time with you once I am through with the experiments I am running right now."

"Owen," Nick said as he stared the other man down. "If you do anything to hurt my sister, I will personally ensure that everything you care for will be charred the next time you see it."

Berthold nodded. "You should better not try us," he said calmly. "We stay true to our words."

"As do I," Nerissa said as she glanced at the newly-engaged state alchemist. "If you do anything to hurt Lynn's precious little girl, I will _hunt_ you down and make you regret the day you were born. And those who had the pleasure to seeing me when I am really mad know that this is nothing you should kid with because I am serious about this, alright?"


End file.
